Sick of Waiting
by TessaStarDean
Summary: JackChloe. Set during season 5, Jack never went to China, and he certainly didn't go back to Washington with Audrey.


Sighing, Jack moved down the corridor toward Tech 1. It had been another long day of meetings and political bullshit, and all he wanted to do was go home and get some sleep. But he still had another hour left of his shift, and he planned on spending that hour away from as many people as possible.

As soon as he opened the door, he heard her crying. Moving quietly, he shut the door behind him and moved through the room, seeking her out. In the far corner, he found her curled up in a ball, tears streaming down her face and her shoulders shaking.

"Chloe?"

Her head snapping up, she looked at him with something akin to terror. She wiped at her eyes, pushing herself up and straightening her clothes.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. "I'll go –"

She stopped abruptly as his fingers brushed against her skin, wiping away the tears. Closing her eyes, more tears fell down her cheeks, and she found herself crying again. Without hesitation, Jack pulled her against him, holding her tightly.

"Talk to me, Chloe," he whispered in her hair.

She shook her head, almost violently. "It's nothing. It's stupid."

"If it made you cry, it had to be more than nothing," he reasoned.

"You'll laugh at me."

He tilted her chin up with his finger. "You know I won't."

"I…it's about a guy."

Jack's jaw clenched. "Who?"

"Jack…"

"Who?"

She looked down. "Spencer."

"What did he do?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

"This is really embarrassing, Jack," Chloe told him.

His expression gentling, he led her back over to the corner before sliding down to the floor, pulling her with him. When she was nestled against his chest, he ran his fingers through her long blonde hair.

"It's just me, Chloe," he assured her. "You can say anything."

She nodded, burying her head in his shirt so that she didn't have to look at him. "I slept with Spencer."

Closing his eyes, Jack's entire body tensed. "Okay."

"He's been flirting with me for months, and finally…I just gave in. But then…"

"Then what?"

"When I tried to talk to him today…" She closed her eyes, more tears escaping. "He just laughed at me. He pulled a list out of his desk and crossed my name off of it, like I was some…some conquest, or something."

"That bastard," he growled, his muscles tensing as he tried to get up.

"Jack," she whispered, "please…"

The pleading in her voice was too much for him, and he sank back against the wall. Promising himself that he would beat the shit out of Spencer later, he wrapped his arms around Chloe again and held her tightly.

"Chloe…" he said quietly, "you deserve so much better than him."

Her eyes met his, and his heart broke at the pain he saw there. "Like who, Jack?" she asked wearily. "Sometimes…I just get tired of waiting, you know?"

He looked at her for a long minute, his heart hammering in his chest. "Maybe you don't have to wait anymore," he murmured.

Ignoring the frown of confusion on her face, Jack leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. Chloe was shocked at first, but she quickly overcame it and kissed him back, moaning softly when he tilted his head and slid his tongue into her mouth. She wasn't sure how long they sat there, drinking each other in, clinging to each other desperately, but she knew that it wasn't long enough when they finally pulled back to breathe.

She looked up at him wearily. "That wasn't just pity, was it?"

Jack smiled at her. "No, Chloe. Pity had nothing to do with it." His eyes darkened. "I do need to go have a chat with Spencer, though."

Grabbing his collar, Chloe refused to let him up. "No, Jack."

"What he did to you was inexcusable, Chloe. I'm going to let him get away it –"

Chloe kissed him again, harder this time, eliciting a ragged groan from the back of his throat. His hands tangled in her hair as she pushed herself against him, wiping out any thoughts of vengeance from his mind. When she finally pulled back, they were both breathing heavily.

"I'll make a deal with you," she said quietly. "If you promise to forget about Spencer for now, we can go home and…continue this. But if you think you really need to go kick his ass now, well…I guess I'll just have to go home alone."

"We wouldn't want that," Jack murmured, kissing her again. "Can I fire him in the morning, though?"

"Absolutely," she smiled.


End file.
